Only a minute or so later, Zeke awoke to a cacophony of pain. Predictably, given its name, one of the downsides to using [Heart of the Berserker] was that when it was activated, he rapidly lost any sense of self-preservation. With the skill active, there was only one thing on his mind: attack. Other goals were cleansed by the fiery rage that came with it. That, as well as the slow loss of endurance and the period of weakness that came after deactivation, was the biggest reason he hesitated to use it. But when his life was on the line, the significant boost to his stats was worth even the most severe downsides.

“You going to help clean all this up?” came Abby’s strained voice. “Or are you going to lay around for the rest of the day?”

Zeke glanced to his right to see that Abby was busy fighting one of a trio of drachnids. A couple more lay dead nearby, evidence that even though the queen had been defeated, the battle had never stopped for her. Luckily, the drachnid she was fighting seemed completely insensate, devoid of any sort of tactical skill. Instead, it attacked like a wild animal, simply throwing itself at Abby. She made quick work of it, hacking it apart with her hatchet before turning her attention to the other two that had lagged a little behind.

Zeke heaved himself to his feet, feeling weaker than he had since being reborn into the new world. It wasn’t surprising; he’d kept [Heart of the Berserker] running for far longer than he ever had before, and the weakness that followed was proportional to the length of its activation.

He wobbled forward, intent on helping out, but his assistance was unnecessary because only a second later, Pudge came out of the shadows and pounced on a drachnid’s back. Immediately, he dug his claws into its hard carapace, raking huge grooves into the chitin. It only took him a few seconds to reach something vital, but he didn’t stop until the entire thorax was little more than pulp. Then, he went to work on the humanoid torso, which parted even more easily under his ministrations. In less than thirty seconds, Pudge had finished killing the drachnid. By that time, Abby had dispatched the other, leaving the cavern eerily silent.

Zeke glanced around at the carnage they’d left in their wake. The queen’s body had become a small hillock of carapace, flesh, and gore, and it was surrounded by a sea of the smaller spider corpses. Some still twitched, barely clinging to life, but the vast majority were still. The cavern had only had a few stalagmites jutting from the ground, but most of those had been smashed to bits by the drachnid queen’s rampage. There was nothing left of the malleable eggs that had contained the smaller spiders; even their fleshy shells had dissolved after the spiders had broken through. Zeke hadn’t realized it at the time, but his fight with the elite monster had ranged all across the cavern, and her huge form hadn’t been kind to the landscape.

Abby broke his reverie, saying, “Well, that sucked.”

Zeke looked up to see her slipping her bow over her shoulder. Pudge padded his way to Zeke, then licked some of the gore off his hand. Idly, Zeke knelt and scratched behind the cub’s ear. It was Pudge’s spot, and the bear leaned into it.

“You okay?” Zeke asked Abby. “Any injuries?”

“A few scratches,” she said, clutching her side. “Nothing that won’t be fine in a couple of days. You?”

“I feel like I got attacked by a pack of rabid honey badgers,” he answered, inspecting his body. It was covered in shallow cuts, and there were a handful of deeper lacerations that would take some time to heal. In addition, he felt sure that he had a few broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a few fractures in his arms and legs. Finally, there were the pair of puncture wounds on his upper back where the queen’s tail had speared him. Other than that, he felt like one, big bruise. Curiously, it wasn’t all that dissimilar than how he’d felt after the car wreck that had ended his baseball career. The only difference was that he could already feel his vitality going to work on the injuries. Even if he didn’t prop his recovery up with [Leech Strike], he felt positive that he’d back to fighting shape in a week or two. A month, and he would be in pristine condition. With an influx of vitality from [Leech Strike], it would probably only be a day. Two, at most.

“You look like it, too,” she said. “If you’re going to keep fighting like that, you’re going to need to get some good armor.”

Zeke shrugged. “I seem to be doing okay,” he said.

Abby shook her head, saying, “What are you, some kind of masochist? I know you can heal, but it still hurts, right? Besides, there are some pretty good artisans in Beacon. A few of the best ones even have smithing paths.”

“And I’m sure they’d just outfit me for free, then,” he said. “I don’t have any money, remember?”

Abby laughed.

“What?” he said.

“With all of these drachnid eyes, you can probably afford just about anything you want,” she said. “And that’s not even considering the beast cores. Or whatever you get off the queen. With all that, you’re practically a one-percenter.”

“Oh,” he said, the possibilities opening up to him. He already had Voromir, his mace, and he was more than happy with it. But what else was out there? Magical armor? Accessories with mystical effects? Julio had had a couple of enchanted rings, but they were useless in a fight, so Zeke had ignored them.

“But since we’re talking about loot, we need to discuss our arrangement,” Abby said, finding a likely rock to sit on. Zeke sat next to her, grateful for the break. It would be hours before he got over the drain of [Heart of the Berserker].

“We’re not splitting everything fifty-fifty?” he asked.

“I was more concerned with the reward for the mission,” Abby answered. “They won’t let you collect, since you’re not part of the guild.”

He glanced her way, saying, “Might’ve been nice to know that before I risked my life for it.”

Abby sighed, saying, “Yeah – I’m sorry about that. I can still give you one of the fruits, but I was hoping –”

“I don’t need it,” Zeke said.

Abby stared at him, her mouth agape. After a second, she managed to ask, “What?”

“You know I’ve already evolved my race,” he said. “So, unless this gets me to the next, I don’t need it. Unless you don’t need it…I’m still a little unclear on how it works. You said it did half, right? Just your soul. But if you use two, does it work on your body, too?”

“No,” Abby said. “One’s the limit. Otherwise…well, it would be wasted. But…I think they’d let me trade the reward. It won’t be a one for one substitution, but I think…”

“What else would make the difference?” Zeke asked. “I have it on good authority that I’m kind of rich now.”

Ignoring his poor attempt at levity, Abby glanced toward the queen’s corpse, then said, “Probably her core. The beast core from an elite monster is worth a lot.” She scrunched up her face, obviously thinking. Then, after about thirty seconds, she said, “Okay – here’s what I think’s fair. You take everything but the queen’s core and the teeth. I’ll collect the reward and use it to evolve.”

Zeke shook his head, saying, “Half. You get half of everything. And take the rewards, too. You worked for this just like I did.” Then, he thought about it for a second before adding, “But I want that carapace I got off the champion. I think somebody could make a breastplate or something out of it.”

“Why?”

“Well, you said I needed some armor, and –”

“No, idiot,” Abby said. “I’m talking about the split. Even if I wasn’t taking the rewards for myself, there’s no way I deserve that much. You killed the vast majority of these monsters.”

“Can’t a guy just be generous?”

She glared at him.

“Fine,” Zeke said. “I don’t want to do all of this by myself, okay? We work pretty well together, and I would like for that to continue until we get out of here.”

“What? Out of here? What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Okay, so…here’s the thing,” he said. Then, he launched into a full explanation of what he knew. He told her about Oberon, about the hints that there was something after level twenty-five. And he told her about his intention to clear that hurdle and see whatever was on the other side.

“That’s…that’s a lot,” she said.

Zeke shrugged. “It’s what Oberon told me,” he said. “He said there was a war with demons, and this whole thing is meant to make us all strong enough to fight them. But from everything you’ve told me, things don’t seem to be working the way it’s supposed to work. I don’t know why, but I think I’m here to figure it out and…I don’t know…unclog the pipes.”

“Or maybe it was all a hallucination you dreamed up to help you cope,” Abby suggested.

“Maybe,” he conceded. That thought had certainly crossed his mind more than once. “I was in those caves for a really long time. But I don’t feel crazy.”

“Says the guy whose idea of battle tactics is jumping at his enemy while screaming,” she muttered. “Fine. So, you want to team up?”

“I do,” Zeke stated. “Until we get to the end.”

Abby thought about it for a second, during which time Pudge thrust his head under her hand and lay his chin on her thigh. Idly, she scratched him in his spot. After a second, she sighed, “Okay. Let’s do it, then.”

Suddenly, it was like a weight had been lifted from Zeke’s chest. Over the course of their partnership, Zeke had begun to trust Abby in a way he’d never really trusted anyone in his life. They’d only known one another for a month or so, during which they’d had precious few real conversations. He still didn’t know her all that well – not in the way he was used to knowing people, at least. He didn’t know what kind of movies she liked. He didn’t know about her favorite music or books or whether or not she liked sports. In fact, he knew very little about her life before being reborn, save that she was probably twice his age, had been married, and had worked as some kind of mental health professional. Her life since being reborn was less of a mystery, but only just.

However, Zeke felt like he knew her on a deeper, less superfluous level. They’d fought together in a handful of life-and-death struggles, and they had lived together in his cottage for all that time. To him, Abby felt comfortable. Familiar. Trustworthy.

And Pudge liked her, which counted for more than Zeke cared to admit.

He smiled, and was suddenly reminded of a few cuts on his face. Wincing at the stinging pain, he said, “Alright. The skill I used at the end has a couple of side effects I’ll still be dealing with for the next hour or so. So, it’ll be a minute before I’m ready to loot. Then, we can go topside.”

Abby shrugged, saying, “Sounds good to me.”

After that, Zeke let the weakness wash over him, and he lay back on the rock, closing his eyes. Then, he finally got to the part he’d really been looking forward to. When they’d killed the queen, he had reached level fourteen. More than that, he had gotten another achievement:

Arachnophobia! You have slain a drachnid queen and more than two-thirds of her spawn. +5 to All Physical Stats.

In addition, he’d completed a hidden quest.

Congratulations! By killing the drachnid queen, you have completed the (Optional) Quest, [Invasive Species]. Reward: Greaves of the Spider Queen

Zeke didn’t accept the reward yet. Instead, he moved on to inspecting his stats. It had been a while since he’d really looked at his status. Even when he’d gained his last couple of levels, he hadn’t bothered to do more than allocate his stats. He quickly allocated his free fifteen points into endurance, then studied his status screen.

Name

Ezekiel Blackwood

Class

n/a

Level

14

Race

Human (G)

Alignment

Isphodel

Achievements

First Blood, Hasty Evolution, Above and Beyond, Genocide, Overachiever, Completionist, Beastmaster, Arachnophobia

Martial Path

Mace – Novice (early)

Artisan Path

Runecraft – Novice (early)

Strength

225

Agility

142

Dexterity

175

Endurance

179

Vitality

132

Intelligence

130

Wisdom

168

Unassigned Attribute Points

0

Basic math told him that his combination of achievements and his evolved body gave him a very significant edge on anyone his level. Also, given the obvious stat differences between him and Abby – and the ease with which he’d dispatched Julio, who was level nineteen, he felt sure that he was at least as powerful as someone in their twenties. Maybe more, though Abby had assured him that some of the skills available at those levels more than made up for any stat differences. Altogether, though, he was happy with his progression so far. He still needed to gain more power, but he had a good start.

After about twenty minutes, Abby asked, “Did you complete a quest, too?”

Zeke opened his eyes to see her staring at a white-and-gold chest that had obviously only just appeared before her. Zeke nodded, saying, “Yeah. I was waiting to open it, though.”

“And an achievement, too, right?” Abby asked.

“Arachnophobia,” he said. “Pretty good one, too. Five to all physical stats.”

“Pretty good? That’s more stats than you get for an entire level!” she exclaimed. “How many achievements like that do you have?”

“Uh…eight?” he said. “They give different stuff, though. My best one is called Completionist, which I got when I got out of my tutorial dungeon. It gave fifteen to all stats.”

“No wonder you’re so overpowered,” she grumbled.

Zeke ignored it. “But the biggest difference is my evolution,” he said. “That gives me three to everything per level. So, it’s like forty-two extra to all my stats now.”

“What? Don’t you mean from whatever level you evolved it?” she asked.

Zeke shook his head. “No,” he said. “I looked at it when I first got it. It was retroactive.”

“That’s not…I mean…”

Zeke pulled up his race, going into the sub-menu that broke down the two halves. It had an additional line that he was sure hadn’t been there before.

Body (G): Determines physical limitations. + 3 Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, and Vitality Per Level. Retroactive due to early evolution. Upgradeable.

Soul (G): Determines spiritual limitations. + 3 Intelligence, Wisdom Per Level. Retroactive due to early evolution. Upgradeable.

“It says it was because of an ‘early evolution’,” Zeke said. “But even if it wasn’t, I did it at level three, so it’s only like nine extra stats.”

“Monster,” she muttered.

Zeke shrugged, saying, “It won’t be as big of a difference once we get to be higher levels. And I’m sure we can find more achievements to make up the differences.” After a second, he said, “Are you going to open that?”

“Oh,” Abby said. “Yeah.”

Then, she flipped open the lid of the chest, reached in, and pulled out a hatchet. It was a bit bigger than the one she normally used, almost big enough to be called an axe. In addition, it had an ornately carved haft, and the edge of its blade had a green tint.

“It’s called a Venomous Hatchet,” she said, grinning. “It poisons anything I cut.”

“Seems useful,” Zeke said, nodding.

“Useful? Do you know how rare this is?” she asked. “Nobody I know has a weapon with an actual effect like this. The most you can find is something with self-repair or self-cleaning.”

“My mace does,” Zeke said. “It adjusts weight based on my strength. So, as I get stronger, it gets heavier. It even changes based on if I’m using one hand or two, so I’m always hitting with as much momentum as I can handle.”

“That’s…I mean…” she trailed off, shaking her head. Finally, she said, “Whatever. I don’t know why I’m surprised anymore. Now, open yours.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Zeke said, accepting his quest reward. Another white-and-gold chest appeared before him.

“Ugh,” Abby muttered. “Don’t ever call me ma’am again. It makes me feel…just don’t.”

Zeke ignored her, instead opening the chest to reveal a pair of armored boots. He inspected them.

Greaves of the Spider-Queen [G] – Armored boots made from the carapace of an elite drachnid. Special Functions: Self-Repair (minor), Self-Cleaning (minor), Surefooted – Maintain Footing, Even in Treacherous Terrain

“Woah,” Zeke breathed, pulling the greaves from the chest. As soon as he had, the gilded chest disappeared. The greaves themselves were just what the description said they were – a pair of leather boots with rust red armor running along the top of the foot and the shin. He quickly discarded the old, mostly destroyed boots he’d pilfered from Julio’s group of murderers and put on the new greaves. The greaves came up to just below his knee, armoring his entire lower leg. More than that, they fit perfectly and were more comfortable than they had any right to be.

“Nice,” Abby said. “I think the Framework is telling you something.”

“I think you might be right,” Zeke said, hopping from foot to foot to test his new footwear. Even though the rocky ground of the cavern was slippery with gore, he didn’t notice the slightest difference in his footing.

After a little more testing, Zeke set about looting the queen and the three drachnids that Abby had killed. The smaller spiders didn’t have anything of value, though. When he looted the queen, he got a queen’s carapace, a pair of larger-than-normal fangs, and an elite beast core. It was a bit bigger than the marble-sized cores that came from the other drachnids.

“Wait – why didn’t the champion drop one of these?” he asked, pulling the elite core from his storage.

Abby shrugged, saying, “Not all elites have elite cores. It’s kind of a crapshoot, really. I don’t know why it’s like that.”

Zeke frowned, feeling shortchanged. They had killed two elites, and so, they should’ve gotten two cores. It just didn’t seem fair. But then again, the new world didn’t seem to be any fairer than the one they’d left behind, so maybe it was to be expected.

Finally, after looting everything, the pair made their way back through the tunnel and to the pit where they’d made their original descent. Luckily, the rope remained in place, and they began the arduous process of climbing back to the surface.